Bengal Plans Policies To Tap Investment In Semicon, Drones

At a time when several governments have been introducing new initiatives and pumping up investments to back startups, the West Bengal government is reportedly chalking out plans to roll out several policy frameworks in emerging areas of information technology (IT).

The Bengal government will bring in the new semiconductor and global capability centre (GCC) policies in order to attract investment in semiconductor, drones, and global capability centre (GCC), said the Hindu Businessline report.

“In the West Bengal government, all our agencies and ministries are working in tandem to get the GCC policies done. It is almost in the final stages. So is the semiconductor policy. A draft already exists. We are making the necessary amendments to it, making it very up to date,” Babul Supriyo, West Bengal’s IT and electronics minister, was cited as saying in the report.

Supriyo made his comments while addressing the ninth edition of The Tech Meet organised by Assocham.

 Supriyo also said the GCC policy is likely to come into effect before The Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS), which is scheduled to be held on February 5 and 6, 2025, as per the report.

The report further said that, even as the state government looks to bring in new schemes, it will also update existing policy on drones to attract investment.

“I have met several young entrepreneurs working in the drone sector and have asked them to come and meet the state government outlining their aspirations and any specific changes that they want. There is also a drone academy in the pipeline,” Supriyo added.

This development comes at a time when the central and several state governments have been introducing various initiatives to back startups.

For instance, a month ago, the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) invested INR 15 Cr ($150 Mn) in energy transition focused investor Transition VC as part of the state’s effort to achieve sustainability goals, which includes net-zero emissions.

Prior to that, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Joe Biden, in September, to discuss several topics, including the MQ-9B Predator drone deal and setting up of a semiconductor fabrication plant in Kolkata.

As of June, Karnataka government was looking to attract an investment of $6.2 Bn in technology sectors such as biotechnology, AI, semiconductors, AVGC (animation, visual effects, gaming, and comics), and healthtech from the US and Europe. 

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin paid a visit to the United States in September, to meet with various MNC labels such as Microsoft, Apple and Google and shook hands with the business leaders for their business expansion in the state and new investments.